Our Union Disability liaison Tara Hosey attended a Workers Compensation Zoom Meeting on 4/30/2020. The meeting was presented by attorney Christine Conley who is also a state representative in Groton and Ledyard.
COVID-19 should be considered an "occupational disease", employees have 3 years to file a claim related to occupational diseases, but are highly encouraged to file as soon as possible. Please file a claim ASAP!
The best case scenario for essential workers is if the governor mandates that all WC claims associated with COVID-19 are automatically approved. All employees with symptoms of COVID-19 should file a Workers Comp. claim. If the claims are denied, the employee should request an informal hearing.
The reasoning behind this is that historically, claims filed for occupational diseases have provided important supporting data for setting precedence going forward.
The long term effects of COVID-19 are not known, and could potentially impact employees for years to come. With this in mind having the illness covered by Workers Comp. could save employees a lot of money. Even employees who were symptomatic but tested negative should file claims because the accuracy of the tests are questionable. File a claim ASAP!
Things that you should have documented include:
- The company not following the CDC guidelines as far as PPE.
- The company not following the CDC guidelines as far as cleaning protocols.
- The company not following the CDC guidelines as far as monitoring employee's temperatures and general health on a daily basis during the crisis.
- Any supporting documentation in text or emails between employees and management regarding anything related to COVID-19.
- Any medical records including tele-health or virtual appointments.
If you have any questions, please call Tara at our UDBL office at 203 230-5717.
